At least 220 people were killed and thousands more injured when an earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale struck northern Iran.

Relief workers struggled to treat more than 1,500 injured people and shelter some of the 25,000 made homeless in the northern province of Qazvin after Saturday's disaster. Survivors expressed their fury at what they saw as a lack of help from the authorities.

In one incident crowds pelted the interior minister's convoy, angry over delays in searching for those buried in the rubble.

"My child died and the local people helped me bring him out of the rubble. Only local people are helping," said one man in Avaj, a town of 3,600 near the quake's epicentre, 130 miles west of Tehran.

Half the homes in Avaj were razed. Many were still awaiting food and medicine. In nearby Changoureh, a wealthy resort village, every home was damaged.

Hassan Qadami, head of the Red Crescent rescue effort, said there was little hope left for those still missing.